Aboriginal Navigation Off the West Coast of South America

By S. K. Lothrop

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Sep 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473355248

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

I.—DUG-OUT CANOES WITH SQUARE ENDS.

Dug-out wooden canoes—characterized by square-ended platforms at the bow and stern, long overhang both forward and aft, and little or no sheer—are found over a large part of the New World. It is beyond the scope of this study to trace in detail their distribution from the United States to Argentina and throughout the Antilles. We are concerned, however, with the appearance of such vessels off western South America. They were and still are used in large numbers both on the rivers and off the coasts of Colombia and Ecuador. In addition, a modified form is known to this day in Peru, of which an example from Chile has been reported during the past century.

From the historical viewpoint there is little to be said about the dug-outs of Colombia and Ecuador. While the literature of the Spanish Conquest contains many references to piraguas or canoas, it lacks details of their design and construction. We may assume, however, that the introduction of iron tools has modified the methods of construction, while Spanish influence has altered the design by the addition of stabilizing logs, as will be described presently.

The making of square-ended dug-outs of the present day is very fully recorded owing to Barrett’s¹ studies among the Cayapa Indiaps in the interior of Ecuador. After selecting the proper tree, he writes, they cut it down and roughly shape both the inside and outside of the hull, which is raised on blocks and allowed to dry for several weeks. They then launch the canoe in its unfinished state—a difficult task if the tree stood far from the water—and paddle it to the home of the owner. The final shaping now takes place. Firstly, they cut the interior to the required size by means of an adze, used both with the grain of the wood and diagonally to it. Next, the outside of the hull is worked down until the sides are three-quarters of an inch thick and the bottom about two or three inches. When the proper dimensions have been established, they give the hull a final smoothing with a carpenter’s plane, and again set it aside to dry. Finally, it is coated with beeswax.

The sea-going canoes along the coast differ from those of the interior chiefly in having more sheer. They are described by Hornell² as elongated and graceful (Pl. XV). There is a long overhang at both ends with more sheer at the bow than at the stern, and the bottom is smoothly rounded without any keel. The interior of the hull is not strengthened by ribs, but usually there are round thwarts placed low down near the extremities. If a mast and sprit-sail are carried, the mast is stepped well forward and is supported by a thwart lashed to both rails.

The equipment includes paddles with pointed blades and U-shaped handles—a type with affiliations across the Andes to the north and east.³ There is also a thin painter made fast to a hole in the bow platform and a balsa-wood buoy and buoy rope. The anchor is a stone enclosed in a wooden frame attached to four blades, a type probably introduced by the Spaniards. In addition, each canoe carries a calabash for bailing, which must be kept with the mouth up to ensure good luck.

An interesting variant of the primitive dug-out has been described by Hornell from examples seen at Gorgona Island and the vicinity. Most of the canoes in this district were built with less freeboard than customary, but the stability was increased by lashing balsa logs to the sides. These balance logs were approximately half the length of the canoe and were secured at each end by fibre lashings which passed through holes in the hull. Above the centre of the logs a pole was lashed across the hull with a block of wood inserted at each end to bend the middle of the logs downward towards the water. These various features may